QTL mapping of resistance to Sporisorium reiliana in maize

We mapped and characterized quantitative trait loci (QTL) for resistance to Sporisorium reiliana. A population of 220 F(3) families produced from the cross of two European elite inbreds (D32, D145) was evaluated with two replications at a French location with high natural incidence of S. reiliana and at a Chinese location employing artificial inoculation. The 220 F(3) families were genotyped with 87 RFLP and seven SSR markers. Using composite interval mapping, we identified two different sets of 3 and 8 QTL for the French and the Chinese locations explaining 13% and 44% of respectively. Individual QTL explained up to 14% of estimated sigma(p)2. The 11 QTL mapped to eight maize chromosomes and displayed mostly additive or partial dominant gene action. Significant digenic epistatic interactions were detected for one pair of these QTL. Only a few QTL for S. reiliana were in common with QTL for resistance to Ustilago maydis and Puccinia sorghi, identified at a German location for the same population. Consequently, in our materials resistance to these three fungal pathogens of maize seems to be inherited independently.